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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
11 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
6 / 0
Average Mileage:
87,149 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2010 Chevrolet Malibu steering problems

steering problem

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2010 Chevrolet Malibu Owner Comments (Page 1 of 22)

problem #425

Jan 162023

Malibu

  • 118,643 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while her son was driving at approximately 60 MPH the power steering failed and the vehicle steering wheel had become very hard to turn left or right. The contact stated her son was able to pull off the road and stopped the vehicle. He had not turned off the vehicle and noticed that the "power steering" light was illuminated. The contact stated that the power steering was intermittent, but had eventually become constant. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the needed the steering column torque sensor had to be replaced. The vehicle had been repaired. The contact had researched online and related the failure to manufacturer Technical Service Bulletin Number: 15356 (Steering). The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 118,643.

- Thief River Falls, MN, USA

problem #424

Dec 222022

Malibu

  • miles
steering failed. No power assist and steering wheel shaking. warning light for service power steering came on. Steering sensor torque" code c0545 " The vehicle will suddenly lose power steering. Happens especially upon start up then have to turn vehicle off and sometimes power will come back on. Steering wheel visible shakes. Putting vehicle in shop for further evaluation. GM has a known issue with steering on these vechiles and there was a recall done but not for my year yet it is being widely reported online that there is an issue with other years as well.

- Newark, DE, USA

problem #423

Jan 022023

Malibu

  • miles
When I turn on car Steering wheels locks in place unable to turn, I hasn-€™t been inspected, and the dash says power steering.

- Stockton, CA, USA

problem #422

Jan 142023

Malibu

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The electronic power stearing and electronic stability control shut down while driving but would restart after key was cycled off. Dashboard would blink service esc and power stearing and the vehicle became very hard to turn and control. No there were no symptoms or warning messages prior to the incident. Yes it has been reproduced. My safety and the safety of everyone around me is put at risk becuase the car becomes almost impossible to controland stear. The car has not been inspected by anyone.

- Quinlan, TX, USA

problem #421

Dec 172022

Malibu

  • miles
The power steering goes out while I am driving, and I find out I cannot make turns when the road curves or even to get off the road and be safe. Yes, the vehicle can be inspected anytime. This puts myself in danger of going off the road and others in danger if I cannot make a turn when going through an intersection. This is very dangerous in Michigan on the winter roads where I live. I have had to stop 1/2 through intersections almost in the ditch and then just wait for all cars to be gone to back up & finish the turn. A message appears on dash but it doesn't stay on. I had the steering torque sensor and motor replaced per warranty about July 2020 (at about 98,000 miles)and now the car is doing the same thing again! I haven't taken it in because I am afraid of what it will cost. They said it would have been about $1000 in 2020 if I had to pay for it. I called the dealership who fixed it to see if warranty would cover it the 2nd time and they said no. What good is it if they replace a faulty part with another faulty part?? The car has155,000 miles now as I am self employed doing food deliveries. Thank you.

- Saint Joseph, MI, USA

problem #420

Nov 222022

Malibu

  • miles
The power steering system stops working. There are no warning signs prior to it malfunctioning, the power steering will just disappear, you have to stop shut it off and turn it back on. Does not matter how fast you are going, it just does it. This is unsafe because there is no warning, and it comes and goes with no consistency. I could drive for 30 minutes without a problem and then it stops working. This could easily cause an accident, if it would go out on the highway.

- Green Bay, WI, USA

problem #419

Nov 082022

Malibu

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The power steering system stops working when it-€™s cold. There are no warning signs prior to it malfunctioning. When I get it towed to be seen or bring an mechanic to check out the problem it is always resolved before they can inspect it. This is unsafe because there is no warning and it comes and goes with no consistency. I could drive for 30 minutes without a problem and then it stops working or I could get in the car and it stops working within 5 minutes.This could easily cause an accident.

- Earlton , NY, USA

problem #418

Aug 122022

Malibu

  • miles
My 2010 Chevy MALIBU with 112,000 miles started having power steering failure while driving with my 9 yr old. At 55 miles an hour it was almost impossible to control the car and get pulled to the shoulder. I shut it off and when I turned the key on again I had power steering so I went ahead and drove home. The next day I start it and it has power steering but then I drive it for several miles or more and it dings and a message appears on the instrument panel saying power steering, esc/traction control and the steering almost completely seizes. I took it to have it looked at and of course it does not do it when the mechanic drives nor does it throw any codes. I told him that it happens at random so he needs to drive it until it does it again, and sure enough it does it again but still does not throw a code. I am told my only option is to replace the power steering motor for $800. It seems to me that if it was the motor it would not be working some times and then seize to work at random.

- Stevinson, CA, USA

problem #417

Jul 172022

Malibu

  • miles
My vehicle lost power steering 3 months after buying it. Along with esc and traction controll. However there have been spraratic times when it works just fine. I have been driving the vehicle for 4 years with no power steering because the dealership has told me my rack and pinion is shot and that is not true I cannot afford to fix something that is not broke. That being said they also refuse to look deeper into the issue. So I am stuck driving a very unsafe vehicle until someone decide to do the right thing and admit this is a manufacturer issue and not and owner issue 😕

- Red Wing, MN, USA

problem #416

Jun 022015

Malibu

  • miles
I would like to register a complaint concerning my 2010 Chevy Malibu, which has suffered from intermittent power steering problems since at least 2015. On June 9th, 2015, for example, I took it (with 73,252 miles) to the dealership in Maryland (Ourisman invoice CVCS465753) who traced the problem to an aftermarket insurance plugin. I paid for the repair, which only partially solved the problem. In August 2015 and March of 2017, Chevy issued special coverage bulletin (15356) for power steering failures on 2010 Malibus. When I took it to the dealership including Pohanka in Chantilly, VA, on 19NOV17 (invoice 642014), with the problem, it should have been automatically serviced, based on my recent conversations with Chevy customer care. This didn't occur, however, usually because the dealer argued that it did not apply to my VIN. Recently, I discovered that indeed the Bulletin does apply to my VIN but I was told that it's now outside of the coverage window which ended in 2020. I called Chevrolet corporate headquarters in late May and the representative there with whom I spoke argued that it didn't apply to the part numbers in question (Pohanka produced codes of 19332846 and 23232310), however when I asked him which part numbers they were we discovered that one of the two matched (bulletin identified codes of 23232310 and 22837369). He then told me they both had to match. I then quoted the bulletin which called for replacing one or both and he begrudgingly referred me to a special handler. I finally spoke with that individual, and she said that I was 12 years out of coverage, I reminded her that my vehicle was only 12 years old and that the reason it was out of coverage was because multiple GM dealerships and corporate officials such as the man with whom I spoke in late May continuously stiff-armed or otherwise denied responsibility for the defect. I reported it to the CEO's office in early June but the rep failed to get back with me by the agreed upon date.

- Sterling, VA, USA

problem #415

Jun 052022

Malibu

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The car shut off while driving down the street. Lost all control over steering and braking components. After the car shut itself off was not able to get it to turn back on after several hours. Turned it back on but when attempted to drive it home, it sh*t itself off again. Still could not control steering wheel

- San Antonio , TX, USA

problem #414

Apr 112022

Malibu

  • miles
The steering wheel has started freezing to where it is difficult if not impossible to turn. When this issue occurs I will see the STEERING ESC light notification appear with a chime. Stopping the vehicle and turning the engine off then on clears the issue for the moment but will occur again, almost daily. In doing research I encountered GM Service Bulletin No.15356 which identifies this as a known issue. My car currently has 174,000 miles on it so it is outside the range specified in the bulletin. Being as this is a known safety issue why was a safety recall not issued. This seems to be a very serious issue yet not being handled as such.

- Moscow Mills, MO, USA

problem #413

Mar 242022

Malibu

  • miles
Was driving. My speed was about 60mph car swerved into left lane slightly when I went to move back into my lane I had no power steering and I think lights on dash stated power steering esc. Pulled over at gas station and read a forum about this. It stated if I turned off car and restarted car i would have power steering again. It did. Next day started car at home and didn't have power steering again. Shut it off restarted car and again steering was back.

- Red Wing, MN, USA

problem #412

Mar 012022

Malibu

  • miles
Electrical power steering went out on highway. Loss partial control of the wheel!

- Oakdale, MN, USA

problem #411

Mar 072022

Malibu

  • miles
While driving home from work on a busy parkway my daughter lost control of her 2010 Chevy Malibu (due to loss of power steering), after almost getting hit by another car she struggled to steer the car to the side of the parkway but turning the steering wheel was extremely difficult. She called me and I was able to drive it home but the power steering worked on and off. A warning message flashed [ Service Power Steering - ESC off ] My daughter doesn't recall seeing the warning light before the incident. I took the car to my mechanic, he said I was better off going to the dealer because it was a big electronic problem with power steering but he wasn't sure how to troubleshoot it. This could have ended a nightmare.. And, I am very upset after doing research on the Electronic Power Steering Assist problems and recalls for the Chevy Malibu and other GM vehicles over the past 10 yrs it is quite troubling and what really angers me is they don't have a recall for her car which is ridiculous after you spend a little time researching the 2010 Malibu customer complaints due to the power steering failure.

- Oceanside, NY, USA

problem #410

Feb 072022

Malibu

  • miles
While driving the power steering goes out and a warning message pops up that says -€˜Service ESC-€™ and -€˜ESC Off-€™. It is near impossible to turn the wheel when this happens. I was able to turn the car off and back on, and the power steering returns/messages go away, but the same problem happens on and off.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

problem #409

Dec 092021

Malibu

  • miles
Power steering loss 3 times within last 2 months. ESC steering error. Probably an unprotected voltage surge of power steering torque sensor. The first time this happened I almost hit the wall.

- Center Valley, PA, USA

problem #408

Jan 142022

Malibu

  • miles
Lost power steering and increasing the risk of a crash. There is a recall on several Malibu just not the 2010 LTZ. I am wondering why this vehicle does not a recall when the 2004 to 2006 on the electric power steering has a recall"?"

- Harrison, AR, USA

problem #407

Jan 172022

Malibu

  • miles
While driving and making a left turn the steering wheel suddenly became difficult to steer. Power Steering and Service ESC warnings showed up on dash. Able to pull off the road and turned off engine. When restarted, message cleared and power steering returned. Drove back home and problem occurred several more times. Parked car in driveway. Unable to drive due to this safety issue.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #406

Jan 122022

Malibu

  • miles
The ESC and engine light came on and then the stability track light came on for a matter of a min and then all the lights just went off. I seen there are recalls on these issues but not for my vin number.

- Jonesboro , AR, USA

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